Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Spirit as the Emissary of Truth

The Spirit as the Emissary of
Truth

Below is a rough translation
and some initial comments about John 16:12-15, the gospel reading of the
Revised Common Lectionary for the Sunday after Pentecost. ‘Tis the Season of
Pentecost, so we are listening for how God’s spirit is poured out in the
community today. Your comments are welcomed.

12 Ἔτι πολλὰ ἔχω ὑμῖν λέγειν, ἀλλ' οὐ δύνασθεβαστάζειν ἄρτι:

Still many things I have to say to you, but you are
not able to bear now;

ἔχω: PAI 1s,
ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold

λέγειν: PAInf,
λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

δύνασθε: PMI
2p, δύναμαι, 1) to be able, have power 2) to be able to do something

βαστάζειν: PAInf,
βαστάζω, 1) to take up with the hands

1. Several
translations supply a “them” for the last phrase as the object of ‘to bear’.

2. This is a
very open-ended remark, similar to 20:30 and 21:25, suggesting that the
revelation of and about Christ is continual and not final. This language
suggests (to me, anyway) that John is addressing his community and their living
engagement with the gospel.

Yet when he may come, the spirit of truth, it will guide
to you in all the truth; for it will not speak about himself, but whatever it
hears it will say, and the things which are coming it will make known to you.

ἔλθῃ: AASubj
3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come

ὁδηγήσει: FAI
3s, ὁδηγέω, 1) to be a guide, lead on one's way, to guide

λαλήσει: FAI
3s, λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound 2) to speak

ἀκούσει: FAI
3s, ἀκούω, 1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing 2) to hear

λαλήσει: FAI
3s, λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound 2) to speak

ἐρχόμενα: PMPart
apn, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come

ἀναγγελεῖ: FAI
3s, ἀναγγέλλω, 1) to announce, make known

1. I’m
struggling with the gender-laden nature of both Greek and English here. The
pronouns ἐκεῖνος (he) and ἑαυτοῦ (himself) are male; the noun τὸ πνεῦμα,
to which those pronouns refer, is neuter. The verbs are 3rd
person singular and could the implied subject could be he, she, or it. I am
going to let the pronouns be male, but retain the neuter for the implied
subject of the verbs, honoring the noun.

2. The verb ἔλθῃ is
an aorist subjunctive verb, signifying something conditional. I use ‘may’ in
the raw translation in order to keep that conditionality prominent. In this
phrase, the condition that the subjunctive indicates is ‘when,’ so in a refined
translation I would simply make it “when he comes.”

3. The pronoun ὅσα
(whatever) is plural, as is the substantive participle τὰ ἐρχόμενα (the things
which are coming), indicating that what the spirit will hear and report will
not be just one thing, but many.

4. The verb ἀναγγέλλω
shows up in vv.13, 14 and 15. See the comment in v.15, n.3.

5. I am curious
about the caveat that the spirit of truth will not speak about itself, but will
only repeat what it hears. Why would Jesus make this clarification? Was there
some kind of ongoing controversy over whether the spirit of truth (or truth
itself) has something to say that Jesus (via God) does not? Is there a ‘reason
v. revelation’ controversy behind this statement? If so, this verse would be
subordinating reason to revelation without dismissing reason (if that is a
valid way of interpreting ‘the spirit of truth.’)

14 ἐκεῖνος ἐμὲ δοξάσει, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ λήμψεται καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῖν.

He will glorify me, because out of the mine it will
take and make known to you.

1. The phrase
“out of the mine” is rather awkward because I want to show that there is a
definite article (τοῦ) before the possessive pronoun ‘mine’ (ἐμοῦ), both of
which are genitive singular. I’m not sure how to translate that article. Most
of the translations that I have seen seem to make it the object of the verb
‘take’ and ‘make known,’ as “what is
mine it will take and make known.”I
would expect an accusative case or a relative pronoun if that were the meaning.
Anyone have some insight into this curious construction?

All that the father has is mine; because of this I
said “Out of the mine it takes and makes known to you.”

ἔχει: PAI
3s, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold

ἐστιν: PAI
3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present

εἶπον: AAI
1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak

λαμβάνει: PAI
3s, λαμβάνω, 1) to take

ἀναγγελεῖ:
FAI 3s, ἀναγγέλλω, 1) to announce, make known

1. There are
two words in this verse which could mean ‘because’: διὰ and ὅτι. ὅτι can
also mean ‘that’ or mark the beginnings of a quote. I am interpreting it as the
latter because this verse quotes (almost) the previous one.

2. The
difference between the quote in v.15 and v.14 is that v.15 has ‘takes’ and v.14
has ‘will take.’

3. The verb ἀναγγέλλω,
which appears in vv. 13, 14 and 15, appears 2 other times in John’s gospel. In
Jn. 4:25, the woman at the well tells Jesus that when the Christ comes he will
“tell us all things.” In Jn. 5:15 a lame man whom Jesus had healed on the
Sabbath went “and told the Jews that it was Jesus who healed him.” My next step
in studying this text will be to explore the difference between ἀναγγέλλω and
the more common verb ἀγγέλλω. In this context, the spirit seems to be a
‘go-between’ that explores and hears the things that Chris has (since
everything God has, Christ also has) and then makes them known to the church.

4. This verse feels
like an odd thing for someone to say in real time. I suspect it is a
clarification by the writer for the sake of a controversial theological point
at play in his community. Elaine Pagels (in Beyond
Belief) argues that one polemic John is addressing is the notion embraced
in the Gospel of Thomas that the truth lies within each person. Instead, John
argues that the truth lies within Christ alone, who is made known by the spirit
to those who believe in Christ. If Pagels’ thesis is correct, this text could
be part of that ongoing polemic, centering the theology embraced by the
Johannine community in Christ. On the other hand, it could also be validating
the Johannine community’s theology even though it is different from what other
Christian communities hold (such as reflected in the synoptic gospels).

From what I remember, the ἐκ τοῦ ἐμοῦ is not an unusual construction with verbs like λαμβάνω, meaning take (something) out of (all that is) mine. I think this implies that we can get pieces of the truth from the Spirit but not the whole thing all at once, which would overwhelm us no doubt. Thank you, Mark, for the work you do here. I read it almost every week and you have done wonders with reviving my Greek, which was getting rusty. I don't comment much, but I would like you to know how much I appreciate your diligence and your many helpful insights.

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This blog is a weekly translation of a text from the Revised Common Lectionary.It is my rough translation in bold with some initial comments in blue, all of which are subject to change as we journey together. That's why I welcome your comments.